Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has initiated a phased reopening of customer withdrawals, confirming that BTC transfers on the Bitcoin network are open following a security breach that resulted in $387.5 million in stolen assets.
Phased Reopening Schedule and Security Breach Details
Security systems at Bitget first detected unauthorized transfers from several hot wallets at 18:31 UTC on Sept. 24. While trading and deposits remained operational, the exchange immediately suspended asset withdrawals. The platform initially estimated losses at $351.6 million, before revising the figure on Sept. 25 to $387.5 million after identifying additional transactions stemming from the same initial exploit. The incident follows broader security challenges across the exchange ecosystem, including recent reports where Bitget had 30 minutes to contain a hack and related developments where ZachXBT identified Bitget hack suspects seeking support.
Bitget stated that customer balances remain unaffected and that its Protection Fund will cover the total financial damage. The exchange established a phased timetable set for 08:00 UTC on each respective date:
- Sept. 28: BTC on the Bitcoin network.
- Sept. 29: ETH on Ethereum, BSC, Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism.
- Sept. 30: USDT on Ethereum, BSC, Solana, and Tron.
- Oct. 2: Other tokens, fiat currencies, and peer-to-peer services.
Order Book Snapshot and Market Liquidity
Public market feeds confirmed active derivative trading prior to the withdrawal notice. At 04:20 UTC on Sept. 28, public trade feeds registered 100 BTCUSDT futures fills between 04:20:25 and 04:20:49 UTC, alongside 100 ETHUSDT fills between 04:20:34 and 04:20:52 UTC.
An order book snapshot taken around 04:21 UTC displayed $22.14 million in BTC futures orders and $10.29 million in ETH orders within 0.05% of each contract's midpoint price. Quoted spreads were measured at approximately 0.012 basis points for BTC and 0.038 basis points for ETH. A modeled $500,000 sell order against the static order book yielded an average slippage of 0.0095% below the midpoint for BTC and 0.0183% for ETH, excluding fees.
Historical data from a TokenInsight study covering Aug. 16 through Sept. 14 previously ranked Bitget first among nine venues for combined BTC and ETH futures depth within the 0.05% band with a $41.60 million median, and third within the tighter 0.03% band at $15.25 million, behind MEXC and Hyperliquid.
Why It Matters
While ongoing order book depth demonstrates that Bitget's futures trading infrastructure remained functional during the suspension, derivative market liquidity is distinct from spot asset solvency and processing capability. The primary test for customer confidence relies on whether on-chain transactions settle successfully without delays as each network tier activates. Successfully meeting the staggered timetable through Oct. 2 will be critical for Bitget to prove that its capital reserves and Protection Fund can absorb a $387.5 million loss without restricting client access to funds.
